Belgium

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 12, 2015

Belgian judge rules that Sharia4Belgium, group accused of recruiting fighters for Syria, is terrorist organization and sentences group leader Fouad Belkacem to 12-year prison term; ruling reflects European struggle to determine how best to combat home-grown extremism. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

European Union opens investigation into whether Belgium cut special corporate tax deals, part of larger push against tax avoidance by multinational companies on Continent. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Belgian authorities say armed man identified as W R was arrested after seeking meeting with European Parliament president, which led to evacuation of several buildings; W R is charged with threatening attack and possessing unauthorized weapons. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Belgian government reports that 350 Belgians traveled to Syria to join extremist groups and more than 70 of them have returned home, posing severe risk to national security. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

Many French movies are relying on foreign financing and larger tax breaks from other European countries like Belgium and Luxembourg; broadcasters beset by low revenue are investing in big-budget films, hurting smaller productions; twenty-two percent of filming for French movies was done outside country in first nine months of 2014. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Belgian authorities release first names and nationalities of two men killed in raid on suspects in failed terrorist plot; men are identified as Belgian-Moroccan citizen Sofiane A and Belgian citizen Khalid B; detention of three other suspects linked to plot is extended to one month. MORE

Jan. 19, 2015

Belgian prosecutors are asking Greek authorities for help in extraditing person arrested in Greece who may be connected to foiled terrorism plot in Belgium. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

Belgium deploys scores of troops in Brussels and Antwerp after police raid what they believe was jihadist cell in Verviers. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Spate of arrests of terror suspects in Belgium, Germany and France both spotlights the difficulties European authorities face in confronting radical jihadists and their increasing willingness to act forcefully in advance to stop these potential threats. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

Series of raids against suspected terrorists across Belgium results in police killing two suspects in gun battle; officials say targets of raids had joined Islamic extremist groups and were plotting 'imminent' attacks in country. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

General strike paralyzes air and rail traffic in Belgium and idles companies across the country as trade unions cap month of labor action against government austerity policies. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

European Union gives Belgium, France and Italy three more months to bring their budgets in line with legal requirements; decision is sign that European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker will be sensitive to calls to ease up on austerity in Europe. MORE

Sep. 27, 2014

Great Britain, Belgium and Denmark join United States in its fight against Islamic State group, agreeing to military operations in Iraq, but refuse for now to take direct intervention in Syria; entry of British into coalition provides Washington with broader consensus for what is described as extended campaign waged without a resolution authorizing use of military force by United Nations Security Council. MORE

Aug. 5, 2014

Britain commemorates day 100 years ago when nation entered World War I with dimming of lights and ceremonies across country and in Belgium. MORE

Jul. 16, 2014

Executives from Qatar's Aspire Academy acquire KAS Eupen, Belgian soccer team; lure for Belgian team, on verge of financial ruin, is money; attraction for Academy executives is more complex; Qataris had scouted hundreds of thousands of young African players, since 2007, in hopes of bringing the best of them to academy for development as professional soccer players (Series: Seeding The Field). MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Belgian court orders newly opened sex club called the DSK to change its name; ruling is another legal victory for the man known widely by those initials, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French politician and former head of the International Monetary Fund who faced charges, later dropped, of sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper in New York in 2011. MORE

Jun. 27, 2014

Ypres Journal; 100 years since World War 1 ravaged Ypres, Belgium, remains are still being found, another of many reminders of war that forever changed region; Allies and Germans fought for nearly four years around Ypres, producing some of war's most famous and bloody battles. MORE

Jun. 2, 2014

Pres Obama leaves for trip to Poland, Belgium and France cautiously optimistic that Ukraine's election of pro-European Pres Petro O Poroshenko and Russia's pullback of troops from border may have begun to diffuse crisis there; analysts warn that Russia is still vying for power in region, suggestion that looms over possibility of unplanned meeting between Obama and Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin in Europe. MORE

Apr. 18, 2014

Belgian Prince Emmanuel de Merode is recovering from gunshot wounds after being attacked by unknown assailants in the Democratic Republic of Congo; de Merode is an internationally recognized conservationist who has been working to protect rare mountain gorillas in the country. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Yves Desmet, editor in chief of left-leaning Belgian newspaper De Morgen, offers new apologies for publishing satirical images of Pres Obama and First Lady Michelle, digitally altered to look like apes; acknowledges that images crossed the line between humor and racism. MORE

Feb. 14, 2014

Belgian lawmakers approve measure that would allow euthanasia for incurably ill children enduring insufferable pain; measure, amended version of 2002 law allowing euthanasia for adults, makes Belgium first country to lift all age restrictions on legal, medically induced deaths. MORE

Dec. 13, 2013

Belgium becomes the first country to allow euthanasia for incurably ill children after the upper house of Parliament votes to extend to minors a 2002 law legalizing the practice for adults. MORE

Nov. 6, 2013

Ford Motor plant in Genk, Belgium, is scheduled to close at the end of 2014, but only after a long, bitter struggle with 4,000 blue-collar workers that has cost company $750 million; community faces economic devastation from ripple effects when factory closes. MORE

Oct. 15, 2013

Belgian authorities say Mohamed Abdi Hassan, man suspected of being a pirate mastermind, was arrested at Brussels airport and charged with kidnapping, organized crime and piracy; say Hassan and his accomplice Mohamed Aden were lured to Belgium by proposal for a film project. MORE

Oct. 4, 2013

Former Tunisian soccer player Nizar Trabelsi, who was sentenced to a decade in prison in Belgium in 2003 for planning a suicide bombing for Al Qaeda against military base there, has been extradited to United States to face similar charges in an American court. MORE

Sep. 24, 2013

Waterloo Journal; region around Belgian city of Waterloo is busily preparing to commemorate 200th anniversary of Napoleon's defeat, one of the major battles in European history; many French-speaking residents are against celebrating Napoleon's defeat, as evidenced by opposition to a British proposal to raise a memorial to the British soldiers who died during the battle. MORE

Aug. 24, 2013

Three-nation investigation leads to one of the biggest seizures of synthetic drugs in Europe, haul of products to create Ecstasy pills with street value of $1.7 billion; after 30 raids in Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland, 11 people are arrested and charged with possession, production and trading in drugs as part of a criminal gang. MORE

Jul. 20, 2013

Belgium is preparing to install new king when current monarch Albert II yields throne to his son Prince Philippe; stealing some spotlight is Delphine Boel, middle-aged woman who insists she is the illegitimate daughter of Albert II. MORE

Jul. 5, 2013

Belgian lawmakers seize on King Albert II's decision to abdicate and call for his son, Prince Philippe, to be a purely ceremonial monarch. MORE

Jul. 4, 2013

King Albert II of Belgium announces that he will abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Philippe. MORE

Jun. 26, 2013

Special police officers raid at least nine sites in southern Germany and Belgium after what German authorities say was tip about Islamist plot involving two men of Tunisian origin who were planning to stage terrorist attacks involving explosives and remote-controlled model airplanes; separately, French authorities detain nine suspected Islamist terrorists. MORE

Jun. 23, 2013

Seth Kugel Frugal Traveler article on performing arts shows in Barcelona, Berlin and Brussels that cost less than 20 euros. MORE

Jun. 18, 2013

Several successful Belgian designers, who were known as the Antwerp Six in the 1980s, reunite at Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp to celebrate their fashion school's anniversary and take a look at some of today’s student talent. MORE

Jun. 16, 2013

Continuing investigation into large diamond heist in Brussels airport has turned up more than 30 suspects and authorities are still searching for another; hasty attempts to sell diamonds indicate robbery was not as well planned as initially thought; stolen cargo may be far higher than $50 million first estimated, and could rank among biggest diamond thefts in Belgium, hub of international gem trade. MORE

May. 17, 2013

Marc Bertoldi, French owner of luxury car business accused of masterminding $50 million million diamond theft at Brussels Airport, temporarily fends off extradition to Belgium, arguing that authorities there have not spelled out his precise role. MORE

May. 10, 2013

Belgian authorities investigating $50 million diamond robbery at Brussels airport begin releasing some of more than 30 men questioned in connection with theft; narrow focus on select suspects. MORE

May. 9, 2013

More than 200 Belgian police officers and authorities in two other countries sweep up more than 30 people and recover some of $50 million in diamonds stolen in a carefully orchestrated robbery in Brussels in Feb 2013. MORE

Apr. 26, 2013

Shrinking economic output in Germany, Belgium, France and other Northern European countries suggest that recession may be spreading across entire continent, to nations once considered bastions of euro economy; recession in Germany and others would have strong negative multiplicative effect, hampering growth in United States, Asia and Latin America. MORE

Apr. 17, 2013

Authorities in Belgium raid 48 homes nationwide and arrest six suspects in what prosecutors describe as jihadist recruitment drive for insurgency in Syria spearheaded by group Sharia4Belgium. MORE

Apr. 14, 2013

Vincent Manil is one of last tobacco producers in Semois Valley of Belgium, continuing long tradition that has all but been forgotten and producing some of most unique tobacco in world. MORE

Feb. 21, 2013

Vleteren Journal; newfound popularity of Westvleteren 12, beer brewed for over century by Trappist monks in small town of Vleteren, Belgium, has given lift to town's local economy. MORE

Feb. 20, 2013

Eight armed robbers seize diamonds worth tens of millions of dollars from passenger plane preparing to depart for Switzerland from Brussels Airport; speed and smoothness of heist suggests that robbers had inside information, possibility that police are investigating. MORE

Nov. 21, 2012

Belgium, riven by ethnic tensions between French-speaking Walloons and Flemish speakers, has its best chance to qualify for soccer's World Cup in 2014 with new generation of diverse players; team recently defeated Scotland, 2-0, and is tied for lead on points with Croatia in Group A after four games. MORE

Nov. 6, 2012

Antwerp Journal; Antwerp, Belgium, where nearly 85 percent of world's uncut diamonds are traded, is fighting to maintain its role as home for cutting, polishing and selling gems; labor-intensive business has been drifting to low-wage centers in developing world, and diamond trade in country has been buffeted by accusation of range of violations. MORE

Aug. 29, 2012

Michelle Martin, former wife and accomplice of convicted child killer Marc Dutroux, is released from a Belgian prison following a last-ditch appeal effort to keep her behind bars; release has enraged many Belgians, who see it as yet another sign that the country's justice system needs reform. MORE

Apr. 21, 2012

French officials plan to enforce rules banning the publishing of any early presidential election results until all polling places close, but in the age of online media, some express irritation at the restrictions; media in Belgium and Switzerland, where public interest in French election runs high, but feelings of civic duty toward France run low, say they will publish results from districts as soon as they are available. MORE

Mar. 13, 2012

International judges in The Hague are hearing a complex case to decide which country has the right to try Hissene Habre, former president of Chad, who has been indicted in both Senegal and Belgium in connection with political killings, torture and other brutalities. MORE

Feb. 26, 2012

Feb. 21, 2012

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former chief of the International Monetary Fund, will be questioned by French police investigating a suspected hotel prostitution ring in France and Belgium; police say they have questioned prostitutes who say they had sex with Strauss-Kahn in 2010 and 2011. MORE

Jan. 31, 2012

Belgium is paralyzed by a national strike as unions, angry at austerity measures, time their protest to coincide with meeting of European Union leaders in the capital, Brussels. MORE

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